Exchanging garbage for clothes might seem an unusual trade, but that is exactly what happens at the Seaside Scavenge.

Key Points:

Almost 280 kilograms of rubbish was recently collected from a Port Macquarie beach as part of an event known as Seaside Scavenge

For every 10 items of rubbish people earned a token to spend at a second-hand stall

Event organisers hope to change people's attitudes

In September alone, the beach clean-up events are being held in Dee Why and Oatley in Sydney, Wynyard in Tasmania, Perth in Western Australia and internationally, in Cape Town, South Africa and the United Kingdom.

At a recent scavenge in Port Macquarie, more than 280 kilograms of rubbish was collected from a beach and the surrounding scrub in a matter of hours.

Port Macquarie organiser, Karen Fulton, said "trash became treasure" at the event.

"You get one token per 10 items of trash, and then you can use those tokens to spend at the second-hand market stall which has all been donated by the local community, so there's clothes, books, toys," she said.

"It also gets you entry into workshops of face painting, henna, flower crowns and screen printing and you can also get 50 cents off a coffee.

"The environment's so important and we've really got to take care of it, so this is a really good way of actioning that and it's down at the main beaches at Port Macquarie so the whole community can see it and get involved which is really cool."

Year 12 students Kyden Power-O'Toole, Tahlie Enfield, James Robertson, Theo Last and Lewis Kranitis were among those collecting rubbish.

They found a lot of beer bottles and cigarette butts but also a metal chair, skateboard, frisbee and golf balls.

"At the start it didn't look like there was going to be much rubbish today, which we thought was a great sign," Mr Power-O'Toole said.

"But then as we started to go further and further into the bush we started to find more alcohol bottles, more obscure bits of rubbish and we realised just how much there was, even when there's a whole army of clean-up people today."

The event has also made them think more about what they buy.

"I certainly always look at what I'm buying when I go out for food — a lot of the waste we pick up is plastic straws, bottle lids, bottles — stuff that could easily be reused or not used at all in the first place," Mr Robertson said.

"I always take my keep cup when I go for a coffee."

And they enjoyed spending their "earnings".

"Who doesn't love free stuff?" Tahlie Endfield said.

"The way we can all donate and then, in that sense, get back for what you do, it motivates you to pick up more … you want to keep going cause you want that extra skirt or whateveryou might find, so it's a good incentive."